Junior Kaena Apana collected her third 30-plus dig match of the season against Jacksonville.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

(October 5, 2006) - The Volley Bucs deflected a record setting effort from a game Jacksonville squad, and extended their winning streak to six consecutive matches with a 30-23, 30-23, 24-30, 31-33, 16-14 Atlantic Sun Conference victory Thursday night from Brooks Gym.

"A win's a win," said head coach Lindsey Devine. "It's obviously important to pick up conference victories, but we have to stay focused through an entire match and not stop pressuring our opponents."

The Dolphins (8-10, 0-1) accumulated a conference record 23 blocks in the match, but could not prevent the Lady Bucs (15-5, 3-0) from winning their third consecutive conference game and ninth match in 10 outings.The victory marks the first 3-0 start in conference play for an ETSU volleyball squad since the 1991 team went a perfect 10-0 in the Southern Conference.

Unlike the sluggish start from Tuesday's match against Chattanooga, the Lady Bucs sprinted out of the gates, hammering Jacksonville by seven points in each of the first two games and never trailing in either frame.Seniors Crystal Palmer (Chico, Calif.) and Jennifer Sartor (Toronto, Ontario) each combined for nine kills in the opening stanzas with Palmer hitting .714 in the opening game and Sartor matching her in the second.

The Dolphins returned from the intermission following game two with a newfound tenacity defensively, amassing 15 blocks over the next two games and forcing the decisive fifth frame.

Jacksonville took a 2-0 lead in game five, but the Lady Bucs battled back, winning the next four points and never trailed again.Sartor pounded out three of her match-high 19 kills in the finale, while junior Callie Kiselich (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added three of her 14 and senior Sarah Buhr (Stockton, Calif.) chipped in three, finishing the match with 17.

Senior Nani Emerson (Tracy, Calif.) topped 60 assists for the second consecutive match, ending with 64, and junior Kaena Apana (Waianae, Hawaii) reached 33 digs for the second straight outing.Kiselich added 10 digs to her 14 kills, posting her second double-double in as many matches.

The Lady Bucs remain at home for their next match, hosting North Florida in conference action Saturday, October 7 at Brooks Gym.Match time is scheduled for 4 p.m.